Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Aug by sending them to engarderichard@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Richard!

Let’s see what Ryan thought of this movie:

______________________________________The Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1958. Now we’ve come a long way since those days in terms of story telling and film making, and I always dread watching older movies because I can’t sit through slow pacing and little to no special effects. This film has been on my watch list for years, and since I finally bought a copy of Pierre Boulle’s novel Planet of the Apes, I thought it was time to dig deeper into his mind and see the other masterpiece he provided us with. At the end of this 2:45 long movie I felt conflicted, conflicted in the sense that this movie sucked, but is loved by the masses and the Academy. The ending was the only saving grace for me personally because everything leading up to it dragged on forever. The story moved at a snail’s pace and was really only driven by dialogue. I didn’t expect an epic World War II action movie like Saving Private Ryan, but still expected something. A push back of the British held captive, or anger Japanese over the fact the project always seem behind schedule. One our heroes escapes and then gets thrown back into the fire. The story flowed and all the pieces came together for a very climatic ending, but that was the only highlight for me. The Bridge served many purposes, it showed that nothing could break the spirit of the captive British soldiers, while showcasing the power and might of the Japanese high command. The Americans in the film did their usual “cowboy” stuff which played a major factor in the finale, yet they were never the focal point of a movie. For someone who grew up in North America, the historical significance of WWII is always about the impact and suffering of the America military. It was refreshing to see other stories about the war and the sacrifices other soldiers went through. Overall though, I’m thrill to cross this movie off my list and wouldn’t give it my undivided attention again should I ever find myself watching it. I can respect what it set out to achieve and did, this movie just wasn’t for me. 4/10

2 thoughts on “Genre Grandeur – The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – Ten Stars or Less”

Let me begin by saying that anyone born in the MTV – music video – rapid cutting, explosive bit a second generation – should not be allowed to review a film made before 1964 (“A Hard Day’s Night” – where Richard Lester godfathered in MTV music videos using the Beatles as inspiration) – unless you go in with an open mind and are capable of putting yourself in the head space of the ERA IN WHICH THE FILM WAS MADE! Ryan cannot. Giving 4 of 10 stars to Kwai – a Lean masterpiece – and iconic WW II movie – as if it would work better with Vin Diesel in the lead and more stuff gettin’ blowed up – frankly, disqualifies him from even making the effort. Sorry to be harsh here – but although he’s certainly entitled to his opinion – he’s as wrong as you can possibly be. I only rail here because on the off chance that someone reading his review – who’s never seen the film – is put off from doing so – than Ryan has done them an irreparable disservice. This film should be on any movie lovers must see list. Period.

Additionally – since this whole category is Bestselling/Popular Novel adaptations – it should be pointed out that Pierre Boulle – who wrote the novel on which Kwai is based – along with his other “masterpiece” (according to Ryan) – “Planet of the Apes” – and was originally credited with a sole writing credit on Kwai – and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay – in fact – wrote NONE of its brilliant screenplay, but was credited with the work during the Blacklist. In fact – the screenplay was co-written by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson – whose credit (and the Oscars for same) were reinstated and awarded to them through the diligent work of the Writers Guild of America – years later – painstaking work by the WGA to correct the IMPROPER credits doled out during the blacklist period (finally broken by Kirk Douglas when he insisted on Dalton Trumbo’s name going on the credits of “Spartacus” as ITS sole screenwriter). Ryan wouldn’t know any of this – because he wouldn’t care.

Sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings, but these kind of “reviews” piss me off. I don’t apologize.